Not a Capital One customer? How you could still be affected by the hack
Capital One said it’s notifying everyone who was affected by a recent data breach.
People who don’t even have a Capital One credit card may learn that they were included. The company said information from about 100 million Americans and 6 million Canadians was stolen in the intrusion.
A Capital One source told Fox News that number includes every current Capital One customer, every previous customer and anyone who has ever applied for a Capital One card.
The stolen data includes credit card application information like names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, dates of birth and self-reported income, according to Capital One. The company said some data like credit scores and transactions were also taken.
About 140,000 credit card customers’ Social Security numbers and 80,000 linked bank account numbers were also compromised, the company said.
Capital One doesn’t believe its customers’ info was used for fraud or disseminated by the hacker.
The company said it will make free credit monitoring and identity protection available to everyone affected.
The company is already facing a lawsuit. A man who said he’s a Capital One credit card customer filed a suit in Washington, D.C. federal court Tuesday seeking class-action status, Reuters reported.
Manhattan, New York USA - April 6, 2011: Capital One Bank branch on East 34th Street between Madison & 5th Ave, half a block away from The Empire State Building.
The feds have arrested the woman accused of breaking into Capital One’s computer system and stealing the information. Seattle software engineer Paige A. Thompson, 33, is charged with computer fraud and abuse, authorities said Monday.
Capital One said it has already fixed the vulnerability that Thompson is accused of exploiting.
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“Safeguarding applicant and customer information is essential to our mission and our role as a financial institution,” Capital One said in its announcement. “We have invested heavily in cybersecurity and will continue to do so. We will incorporate the learnings from this incident to further strengthen our cyber defenses.”